Here is a "before" shot of the house. (House ends just right of the front door).
M and I had been living in AU for about 6 months when I had the pleasure of driving through Cary Woods neighborhood during the spring time. It was BEAUTIFUL. I mean absolutely beautiful. All of the yards and trees were well established, azaleas and dogwoods in full bloom. Dark pinks, light pinks, whites, purples, and even orange Azaleas. I looked at M and said, "Why didn't we see this neighborhood when we were looking for a house?!"
Fast forward a year or two and a good friend (now my next door neighbor) invited me to her house. LOVED her house. Loved the house next to her house. Told her that I loved the house next door. She explained that an elderly lady lived in the house with a caregiver and that she would let me know if/when the house became available. Over the next few years, I'd drive by the house very slowly. As much as I adored the house, the AC window units sticking out of the windows really scared me. I knew it meant that a ton of work would have to be done to the house. And I knew the ages of my children and my energy level. And I knew my husband. I just knew he'd see those window units and look at me like I'm crazy.
But then.
But then the elderly lady passed away and my friend called with the news. My friend passed my interest and information along to the family. I waited and waited and nothing ever happened. I drove by the house every day to see if there was a "For Sale" sign in the yard. Nothing.
Finally, the phone rang. It was a family member asking if I was still interested in the house. I said that I was. But I must admit that I wasn't overly excited. I think my children were ages 6, 5, 3, and 2. Mainly I was just tired! And the thought of taking on a project as big as that house made me even more tired!
I told M about the house and we looked around the outside of the house. He absolutely loved the yard. That's all it took. He didn't even see the inside of the house and was already "sold". I, however, HAD to see the inside of the house.
And guess what.
It was a let down.
I was sad the minute I walked in the house. The ceilings were low, the plaster was peeling off the walls and ceilings, the kitchen was as small as my closet, there was no laundry room, roaches were everywhere, and it smelled old.
I reported back to M that I wasn't happy with the house and if this was going to be our "forever" house, then I wasn't interested. I wanted a laundry room and I wanted a big kitchen. And I just didn't want to compromise those things for a good yard.
He said he wanted to see it. So I arranged for him to see it. He took a friend of ours with him to see. The friend was a builder/developer. They looked under the house and the friend commented that "they just don't build houses like this anymore."
So M tried to persuade me. But I was tired. Truly. I just didn't want to take on this project. And I didn't want a tiny kitchen. And besides, no one had even mentioned a price.
But then our friend said that if we decided to purchase the house, he'd like to do the renovations.
And our friends business partner had a vision. He said, "Imagine your front door being in the center of the house. What if we added on to the right side of the house so that it is perfectly symmetrical." Hmm. Now that peaked my interest. That meant I could add on a kitchen and a laundry room. And no telling what else.
So to make a really long story short, that's what we did!
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